


Another Nineteen Months Later...

by dainochild



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:17:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7874065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dainochild/pseuds/dainochild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tumblr anons asked, and asked, and asked, and asked, and asked, and it's not too hard to make me cave to begin with. So here's a followup to the Red Potter Epilogue. Obviously it's not going to make sense if you haven't read that fic.........</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Nineteen Months Later...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The Loud Group Of Tumblr Anons Who Asked Every Day For Months](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+Loud+Group+Of+Tumblr+Anons+Who+Asked+Every+Day+For+Months).
  * Inspired by [Red Potter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/592629) by [dainochild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dainochild/pseuds/dainochild). 



> "inspired by" this thing i wrote yeah.... well... i guess....? i just wanted the link there for ease
> 
> i mean i guess you can read it if you haven't read the fanfic Red Potter i just dunno what you'll get out of it?

“So, let me get this clear,” Gold said as he helped Red set out another punch bowl, “you’re only inviting my siblings and their friends? Not like, half the magical world?”

“Ash can’t make it, so yeah,” Red replied. “Why?”

Gold stared around the room. It was decorated for New Year’s (so, that night) and yet there was enough food to compete with the Great Hall at Hogwarts during the welcome back feast.

“No reason.”

“He kept finding things he wanted to try cooking,” Green explained.

“ _Snor_  is gonna be happy, at least,” Red huffed.

“Stop feeding your snorlax junk food.”

“I don’t  _cook_  junk.”

“Yes you do! Wait, I don’t mean it tastes bad, I mean, how many cakes, Red?!”

“Eight? Why, should I make more?”

“No!” Green cried.

“Ooh, and who knows what Dia’s gonna bring,” Gold teased.

Red looked him straight in the eye and flatly said, “Silver.”

“Good! I haven’t seen him for like, a month?”

Red sighed, “I need something better to mock you with, if you’re going to be so well-adjusted about it.”

Gold thought about it and offered, “Alder suggested we get a bachelor pad together?”

As Red started laughing, Green started choking on air. How was he a certified genius?

Actually, Gold was a little nervous about seeing Silver. Not in the usual ‘oh god my ex who I hurt horrible because I was a complete asshole who for whatever stupid reason I felt like I owned him’ sense, more the ‘last time I saw him he turned up at my place at 1am and wouldn’t stop crying for two hours because he was drunk’ thing.

“My boyfriend broke up with me because I’m frigid and I don’t know how to not be frigid when even you hurt me, and I didn’t even love him anyway because he’s not you, which is also why I agreed to date him, and to see if you’d be jealous and you were happy for me, so, fuck you,” was the general gist of it.

There hadn’t been anything Gold could do except apologise, turn down kisses and offers of sex, and listen. Silver had shouted at him immediately after he’d faked his death, and he clearly hadn’t said everything he wanted to say, but he left it anyway. Gold thought he deserved to hear what Silver wanted to shout, even if it was alcohol fuelled, and he thought Silver deserved to shout it.

Then he’d helped Silver get to bed, made sure he drank water, made sure he slept, and after he woke up Silver left mumbling embarrassed excuses. No apologies, just, that he had to leave.

And he hadn’t heard from Silver since. Not beyond a couple of text messages, anyway.

Everybody thought Gold was going to be the possessive asshole ex, himself included. But actually, he hadn’t felt the need at all. It was like something in him clicked and his heart caught up with his mind, realising: you hurt Silver A LOT, and you did it because you felt weirdly in control of him, like you owned him, how fucked up is that? Step back and let the poor guy breathe.

He’d had that revelation years ago, just after he and Red accidentally ran into Silver for the first time. Maybe that was how they managed to be friends again. Gold wasn’t waiting for Silver to forgive him, or take him back. He honestly felt lucky that Silver even wanted to be friends. At the same time, it was hard to feel too much regret when Red was alive and Giovanni was dead because of what Gold had done.

Still. It was a betrayal. Gold understood that. And he didn’t feel like he had any right to Silver’s heart or company any more. It was weird to think he ever had, but he had. He had from when he was 13 and shouting across the library at Silver for talking to other people.

And Gold didn’t date, because, well… he didn’t feel the need to. It was strange to think he had before, and how much he’d defined himself by dating and sleeping with lots of people was creepy. He knew a lot more about himself now, little things that meant he was pretty sure how he’d react in most situations.

So he knew how the party would go: he’d treat Silver like nothing weird had happened, Silver would get embarrassed and avoid him, and Gold would get genuinely distracted by teasing his brothers (Black and N were trying to be _domestic_ , but one of them always got bored and wandered off. And Dia ran a _bakery_ with _the triplets_. The material wrote itself.), and Silver would… well, Gold didn’t know what Silver would do. Probably awkwardly hover near White and Blue, pretending not to be put off by the overt comments about their sex life. Maybe looking bored at Crys trying to talk science. Silver was less of a nerd lately.

He was pretty much right, too. Silver came with Blue and White, quickly latched himself onto Crys, but he wasn’t actually too embarrassed when Gold said, “Hey Silv. Doing okay then?”

“Doing fine,” Silver said. Then he actually added, “I’m avoiding the wine.”

Gold laughed. “Red goes for punch, Silv.”

“I can see that, but that doesn’t rhyme.”

But then Gold got dragged away by N, and every time Gold caught Silver’s eyes from across the room, Silver looked away quickly.

Black and N were living in a small house in a small town in Unova. It wasn’t near Black’s other siblings but every now and again Gold would get a frantic call from Kyouhei about how the house was empty and looked like nobody had been there for _years_ (which was Kyouhei for weeks). The latest story was: Black got dragged somewhere by Reshiram for a week, and N hadn’t noticed because he’d gotten distracted by an electric cave.

“Sounds pretty Steven,” Red said.

“But you go to Chargestone all the time,” Black pointed out, “so how’d you get that distracted?”

N said something about maths. He could tell Red didn’t understand either, because he blatantly stopped paying attention and started scratching Green’s umbreon’s ears. Green obviously understood and had opinion (just what they needed), and Black obviously didn’t understand or have opinion but he listened anyway, watching N with a smile.

Then Green offended N with the usual, “Y’know, you’d make a pretty good Pokémon Professor.”

“And you make an excellent _Satan_ ,” N hissed.

The whole time, Gold felt a weird tension. He knew Silver wanted to talk. It made him nervous. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk. He thought he knew where that would go, too, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready. No, he was ready, it was more, he wasn’t sure how to handle the change it’d bring. His heart had always been Silver’s, but he’d never given it to Silver properly. He’d always thought Silver was the one on guard, being defensive and hesitant, but now he knew better. Silver had thrown all caution to the wind and dived right in. That was why he’d been so hurt. Because Silver had always taken their relationship more seriously than Gold had.

Midnight came and went. It was 2001, and so far it was much the same: Red watching humans with interest while rolling around with pokémon. Green arguing with people. N judging people. Black judging N for judging people while also judging the people N was judging. Silver talking to Dia.

Actually, that wasn’t so usual in public. Gold knew Silver and Dia were super close but they didn’t usually act like it. Yet there Silver was, looking worried while Dia reassured him.

“So!”

Gold jumped. “Fuckin’ hell Pearl, don’t do that.”

“Don’t shout, you attention seeker,” Pearl retorted. He leant close and whispered (well, tried to whisper), “I hear things and you and Silver.”

“Don’t eavesdrop on him and Dia,” Gold mumbled.

“It isn’t my fault if I happen to overhear.”

“You don’t have to _gossip_ about it,” Gold hissed. “What’d they say, though?”

Pearl laughed. “Oh no, I’m not telling you now, you were acting so… _Black_.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Gold whined.

He didn’t get a change to interrogate Pearl further. Silver walked over, looking a little pale, but determined. And Gold once again felt a surge of affection as he remembered how unbelievably strong Silver was just, all the time.

“I wanna talk to you,” Silver said.

“I’m so flattered,” Pearl said.

“Not you,” Silver dismissed, not even looking at Pearl. “Gold.”

“Okay,” Gold said. “Outside?”

Silver nodded. He turned and walked to the door.

So, here it is, Gold thought as he followed.

It had snowed that night. Not a lot, but enough that it dusted the ground. It was clear now, and the moon was uncovered, lighting their way. Silver led him away from Oak’s old lab and to the beach. For a moment, he looked out at the water in silence. And Gold looked at his face thinking how beautiful Silver was in any lighting. Well, okay, maybe not fluorescent lighting. But definitely under the moonlight.

“I’m not sorry about last time,” Silver said.

“I didn’t think you would be,” Gold replied. “I kinda deserved it.”

“I’m a bit sorry it was 2am, or whatever it was. And that I was drunk. But I probably wouldn’t’ve said it if I wasn’t.”

“Eh. It happens.”

Silver turned to look at him. “I’m not angry any more. It was, extreme circumstances. I always understood that. And I’m trusting you again. Otherwise I wouldn’t’ve done it.”

“I don’t think you should judge how much you trust me on what you do when you’re drunk,” Gold said.

“It’s not just that.”

Gold’s heart was pounding. And in the silence between them, he thought he could hear Silver’s pounding just the same.

“I remember it all, and I meant it all,” Silver said. He didn’t move closer, but suddenly, Gold was much more aware of how close he was. They were almost touching. “Especially when I said I still love you.”

“I know,” Gold replied.

Silver glared. It was more out of habit than actual anger, Gold thought. “Do you actually, or did you just want a _Star Wars_ moment?”

“Both, Silv.”

Silver smiled a bit. “I want to date you again, Gold.”

Gold’s mouth felt dry. He’d kinda hoped this would be where Silver ended up, and he was ready for it, but at the same time… it’d been three years. He wasn’t sure how to adjust back to it, and he was worried he’d adjust back to it too well and be back to old habits. Back to thinking of Silver as belonging to him, not choosing to be with him.

He had to admit it. “I’m worried I’ll hurt you again.”

“I’m not,” Silver said. “Maybe I should be, but I’m not. Like I said, it was extreme circumstances.”

“That’s not the point,” Gold replied. “You said that too.”

“Yeah, and I mean that too. But, everything is different now. We’re different now. I’m honestly not worried, because at least now I know how to handle it. And what I’ll do without you.”

Gold smiled too. He felt warm. “That makes me so happy, actually.”

“Don’t say yes just because it’s what I want,” Silver said. “You still owe me, but not like that.”

“Shit, I know that, Silv,” Gold replied. “I love you, okay? I love you more than I did when I betrayed you like — that.”

Silver looked at him strangely.

“I do,” Gold promised. “I love you so much just seeing you makes me happy. But also, I love you so much I don’t need you.”

Silver said, “Aren’t you meant to say you do need me?”

“I don’t,” Gold insisted. “And I don’t think you need me, either.”

“I don’t,” Silver agreed. “I miss you, though. I miss you touching me, and kissing me, and fucking me, and just, openly loving me.”

Gold trailed his fingers down Silver’s forearm, slowly, before sliding them into the spaces between Silver’s fingers. Silver squeezed his hand. “I miss it too.”

Silver leant over and kissed him. Immediately, Gold drew him closer, kissing back. It felt familiar, like coming home, but better than ever before. Silver didn’t hesitate at all, didn’t shiver away from his touch, but he also wasn’t forcefully demanding or purposeful. It wasn’t a distraction, it was what they both really and truly wanted, even after three years. Or maybe it was that they wanted it even more after three years of having time to grow up?

And Gold was less worried.

“Silv,” Gold whispered when he pulled away. “I love you so much, Silv.”

Silver kissed him again, just a light peck, before he curled up against Gold’s side and said, “We should go back before it gets too cold.”

“The cold doesn’t bother you, I thought,” Gold said.

He felt Silver’s lips curl into a smile against his shoulder. “Pisses you off, though.”

“I don’t really feel like going back in there though, they’ll tease the hell outta us,” Gold said. “If you want, you could come back to my place, if you’re sober enough to appreciate it.”

“And do you have posters over your bed?”

Gold laughed. “Still don’t.”

“Then we should put some up, shouldn’t we.”

“I’ve got the Goofy movies too,” Gold said. “Wanna start the New Year with some classics?”

Silver made a thoughtful noise. “But do you have any Sondheim?”

“Of course I do,” Gold replied. “What do you think I listened to when I missed you too much?”

Silver pressed his forehead against the crook of Gold’s neck. “Just, take me home already, you’re endearing me too much.”

Gold wrapped his arms tightly around Silver and Apparated them there.

Hours later, lying on the floor in front of the TV in a mess of hastily grabbed bedding, messily discarded clothes and tangled limbs, with Silver sleeping unbothered by the singing on the screen, Gold felt so warm he wondered if it was suddenly summer. As he toyed with Silver’s hair, pulling the spiked locks straight and watching them spring back in an instant, Gold knew he’d never lose him again. They didn’t need each other, but they wanted each other, and that was better. They’d love each other properly from now on. He knew them both well enough to be absolutely completely positively sure of it.


End file.
